Watermark: Restoring the Presence of Giddings Brook in Cleveland’s Hough Neighborhood

Hundreds of reflective utility flags marked the path of Giddings Brook in the Hough neighborhood. The brook has been buried in a culvert for over 100 years.

 The CUDC, with partners Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, artist Mimi Kato, and archaeologist Dr. Roy Larik, organized a series of community events as part of the Watermark project. The project evoked the memory of the Giddings Brook, a waterway buried and culverted in the early 20th century.

Marking the path of the Giddings Brook with landscape paint.

Discovering and learning about Giddings Brook.

Watermark extended across vacant lots along the path of Giddings Brook.

At one Watermark event, Dee Jay Doc and Fresh Camp provided hip-hop entertainment, improvising lyrics about the history of the Giddings Brook, problems concerning lead in their neighborhoods, and other stories. Food, a rain barrel give-away, and an installation of the Watermark beach and pool also brought people out to the site.  

Splash pool brings water back to the neighborhood on a hot summer day.

Giddings Brook is one of several waterways buried as the city developed in the early 20th century. The Brook holds history as a recreation, entertainment, and restorative place of gathering. Luna Park, a theme park, a Fresh Air Camp, and multiple healthcare facilities were located along the path of Giddings Brook before its ultimate burial. Watermark seeks to ask how else we might consider the use of existing waterways today, as well as those now buried in so many neighborhoods throughout the city.  Watermark was made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Emma López-Bahut Lecture | November 17

Lecture: “From landscape to project: Rethinking Gallicia's rías"Emma López-BahutFriday, November 17th12(noon) — 1pmCUDC, 1309 Euclid Avenue, Suite 200Free and open to the publicJoin us this Friday for our 2017 Fall Lecture Series, featuring Emma López-Bahut. She will discuss how one of the fundamental keys to rethink the "ría" it is to involving citizens: from an initial awareness of the problem through to a decision of a democratic and responsible manner. Her research approaches the problem from different scales: rethinking the "ría" from landscape, city, and housing.Emma López-Bahut is a Lecturer in the School of Architecture at the University of Coruña (Spain) and currently Visiting Faculty in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Kent State University. She publishes and lectures widely on her two research areas: "Space, Art and Architecture” and “bottom-up” processes in architectural design at different scales, from housing to landscape. Her new book on the hybrid work of sculptor Jorge Oteiza —Jorge Oteiza y lo arquitectónico: De la estatua-masa al espacio urbano (1948-1960)— was nominated for the 2017 Premis FAD Pensament i Crítica Award. Emma holds a Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of Coruña, an M.Arch from the University of Navarra, and a B.A. in Architecture and Urbanism from the Technical University of Madrid.Emma López-Bahut's lecture coincides with our Master of Landscape Architecture Program Open House. So if you are considering studying landscape architecture, please join us for the full day. You can find out more information and RSVP here.

Kristen Zeiber Lecture | October 6

Lecture: “Scaling Up: Design with People and Places”Kristen ZeiberFriday, October 6th12(noon) — 1pmCUDC, 1309 Euclid Avenue, Suite 200Free and open to the public

RSVPs encouraged on Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/573039656153285/

In her talk, Kristen will speak about navigating scales, from architecture to urban design to regional design, in her exploration of the connection between people and the places they live. Work presented ranges from small-scale design/build to watersheds, from the post-Katrina Gulf Coast to post-coal Pennsylvania. She argues that across all scales, designers should work for people, and with respect for their relationship to the landscapes where they have chosen to live—even if those places have environmental or economic risk.

Kristen Zeiber is a Project Manager, Urban Designer, and Adjunct Faculty at Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC). She has been with the CUDC since 2013, and contributes to the organization’s neighborhood planning, research, mapping, and student advising. She also teaches the annual Midwest Urban Design Charrette for Masters students in Architecture and Urban Design in collaboration with several other universities. She is on the Board of Directors and co-chairs the Scholarship Committee for the Cleveland chapter of ACE Mentors, a nonprofit extracurricular program which introduces high school students to the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering professions.

Kristen’s previous Community Design Center and Design/Build experience includes over four years post-Katrina at Mississippi State University’s Gulf Coast Community Design Studio in Biloxi, MS, with founder David Perkes; and short internships with the Center for Urban Pedagogy in New York and the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont. She holds a MS in Architecture Studies (SMArchS-Urbanism) from MIT, and a Bachelor’s of Architecture from Penn State University.